Fortunately, the book-length poem offers a solution where readers can escape into an exciting tale all while enjoying the sparse but potent language of poetry. Readers who want a story may shy away from the genre, for fear of being bored or distracted by abstract verse.

I sort of knew the ending from the movie, it was good to see more detail in the book.For those who don’t read poetry, a major hang-up can be the fact that many collections lack a plot. In real life, I have met people who were abandoned, neglected, or put in foster care when they were younger, and nearly every one turned out to be very grounded, decent and kind people despite the nasty way they were treated as children (I've never met any of their parents). I finished this one because it was weird and different, a completely different set of characters than any I've ever met in my life. I'm probably not the best judge of fiction works, because for every book I actually complete, there are at least 12 that I picked up to read and lost interest before getting very far. I liked it, didn't love it, but was glad I read it. The movie was of course less detailed, more emphasis on the worst parts, and with more attractive characters. I don't read a lot of fiction, and to be honest this one caught my eye because I had seen the movie and found the story so unusual I wanted to know more. While I'm not a fan of the Oprah Winfrey show, I am a fan of her book club and this novel ranks up there as one of her best picks The character are so real, the writing style is beautiful, the plot moves swiftly and the story weaves the reader through every human emotion possible. Ingrid stays present in Astrid's unstable life through letters and occasional visits and their strained relationship is key to Astrid's development.

I personally cannot imagine the loneliness and terror that Astrid experienced while bouncing from home to home to home. This is a novel of self discovery the hard way. (I can just envision a younger Angelina Jolie-type playing the role of Astrid in the film version.) Each family that Astrid lives with has its own unique (yet sometimes cliched) cast of characters that are instrumental in shaping and transforming the young woman she becomes. The story is narrated by Astrid - a teenage girl - who suffers through years of living in the foster care system while her mother Ingrid serves a life sentence for murdering her ex-lover. I could not put this book down! 'White Oleander' was wonderful from the very first sentence to the very last and I have Oprah to thank for bringing author Janet Fitch to my attention.

Oleander book